


Simple Men

by romanticalgirl



Category: Hornblower - C. S. Forester
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-08
Updated: 2013-04-08
Packaged: 2017-12-07 21:00:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/753022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/romanticalgirl/pseuds/romanticalgirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Originally posted 1-23-09</p>
    </blockquote>





	Simple Men

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted 1-23-09

Small things are what make a captain. History, he supposes will remember the grand gestures and the great battles, but Bush remembers more the insignificances that great men do.

The way that Nelson would touch the shoulders of the wounded, the way he would thank battle-weary and sweating gunners with a nod of his great hat. The small gestures that Hornblower makes to the men, trusting them to do their duty and, when duty lags, finding the next thing to keep hands falling to idleness. Hornblower expects more than men think they have in them, and by doing so, earns everything and more from every one.

Bush, as captain, imagines no hint of grandeur. He is the service’s man, a serviceable man. He does not awe or inspire. He simple does, as he has always done, and the rest simply fall in line.


End file.
